Coger to seek Washington County Quorum Court seat held by Ecke

FAYETTEVILLE — Beth Coger has announced she’ll run as a Democrat for the District 6 seat on the Washington County Quorum Court.

A retired paralegal, Coger, 69, has lived in Fayetteville and District 6 since 2015. The seat is held by Republican Lisa Ecke of Springdale. Ecke hasn’t said whether she plans to seek re-election.

Coger said she became involved in county government through her interest in criminal justice issues, including the county’s participation in the 287(g) program in which local law enforcement agencies work with federal immigration authorities.

“I think it’s bad for our community,” Coger said of the program. “I believe it causes our immigrant neighbors to be afraid of law enforcement, afraid to assist police in criminal investigations.”

Coger said when she heard of plans to expand the jail, with an estimated cost of $38 million, she began attending meetings. She has advocated for alternatives to incarceration, including reducing the reliance on cash bond for detainees to obtain their release.

She said the justices of the peace seemed reluctant to ask questions of elected officials. She pointed to an ordinance making changes to the 2018 budget by the Quorum Court this spring with some justices saying it was done “because we’ve always done it that way.”

She said she was also concerned when the Quorum Court had to approve a $25,000 payment for bond counsel services omitted from the original ordinance.

“I don’t think the Quorum Court is living up to their responsibility to be good stewards of the taxpayers’ money,” she said.

Another expense Coger questioned was $10,000 to allow new justices of the peace to attend a conference in Washington.

“If we were overflowing with money that would be one thing,” she said of the Washington trip. “But I keep hearing we’re in a crisis.”

District 6 includes northeastern Fayetteville and southeastern Springdale. Justices of the peace serve twoyear terms and are paid $200 per meeting.

Candidate filing for partisan offices begins at noon Nov. 4 and ends at noon Nov. 12. Party primaries are March 3. The general election is Nov. 3, 2020.